Re: Can a Compact Tractor do it?

Thanks guys. I went with the skid steer and arranged for a machine with some attachments that should make things a little easier. Should get it Wednesday. It won't do everything, but its a start. The backhoe will have to wait. And I still want a tractor.

Wasabi - those machines look awesome. I will definately place one of these on the top of my wish list for the next machine. Nice on terf and can handle slopes. Lots of power. More than lots of attachments. Good prices. Not bad.

Sniezur - I live in Marsh Harbour. Cherokee is at the other end of the earth. Just joking. But the long and winding road to get there makes it feel that way. Its 12 miles in according to the sign, which someone amended to read 112 miles.

Re: Can a Compact Tractor do it?

Sorry, I asked this question on another thread -

I've got a dense layer of 3 or 4 inch diameter rocks about 8 inches under the surface. You can dig them by hand with a heavy shovel, steel digging bar, and softening the ground with water. A 2-hp handheld gas auger is stopped cold by this layer.

But, as I've got over 300 post holes to dig, I'm trying to figure if a kubota BX22 has the power and weight to handle this with a PTO-attached auger, as well as get through this layer with the backhoe for trenching. Otherwise, I'll get a Deere 4210 which weighs 1000 more pounds and has about 50% more PTO horsepower, and which is the same price, although sadly *without* a backhoe.

I'd buy the Kubota if I was reasonably sure it could do it, but the nearest dealer is 67 miles away with totally different soil conditions, so there can't be any kind of trial run before a purchase.

Re: Can a Compact Tractor do it?

Ive only dug 9 post holes (175 more to go - 9" auger) with my TC25D so I'm no expert but I don't think hp will help you dig post holes better. (Someone correct me if I am wrong [img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img])I run my tractor barely above idle when I am digging. If I increase the rpms I break more shear bolts when I hit rocks. If I'm just above idle, the auger will bounce and, if the rock is small enough, it will work itself loose and come up. When I do hit rocks, it jostles the tractor a bit but nothing major.

Of the nine holes, all of them are 36" deep except 2. Those 2 holes are about 30" deep. In each case I hits rocks I could not get through. My only recourse would have been to use a sledge hammer and something (digging iron?) to break them up. However, I had no idea how thick the rocks were. In one case, it covered the entire bottom of the hole while in the other case it covered half the bottom of the hole. In both cases I would have 'destroyed' the hole to get the rock out. So, I used 2 bags of concrete in these 2 holes instead of 1.

If you know you're going to hit rocks, you might want to seriously consider a digger with a slip clutch. Also with rocks, you will probably have to get off the tractor to clear rocks out of the hole, I know I did. In such situations, resist the urge to try it with the auger running. Stop the auger, clear the rocks/dirt, get back on the tractor and start the auger.